


Doctor Who: The Puzzlebox

by Game_of_the_Doctor



Series: The Long Way Round [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Mystery, Original Character(s), Puzzlebox, Science Fiction, TARDIS rooms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-09 00:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7780003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Game_of_the_Doctor/pseuds/Game_of_the_Doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor was just faced with deaths of his two best friends: Amy and Rory. He tries to leave everyone behind and finds a place for isolation. However, when an ancient puzzlebox appears on his doorstep, he can't resist. He always loved a good puzzle and this one might bring some old memories and create potential disasters...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gift on the Doorstep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment. I appreciate every good word, advice and criticism.

It was a cold and gloomy day. Rain was falling from the sky, heavier than ever. Small wooden cube was shining because of all the raindrops that made it soaking wet. It was put in front of the blue police box. It seemed very intriguing: a small, light-brown box standing peacefully next to much bigger blue box. Doctor was looking at the box. His look was filled with interest and curiosity, and ignorance at the same time. He wanted to know what was the box in front of his box, but he knew it would lead to him getting involved with someone else's problems. 

He was dressed the same as always. He was thinking about changing his look but he didn't really want to do that. He didn't feel like letting the recent events go away from him. He picked up the box. It was very heavy for a regular wooden box. Much heavier than it was supposed to be. He snapped his fingers and went into the TARDIS. It was magnificent - full of light and different colors, elegant and still a bit childish. It was a pure reflection of his personality. 

"What are you?" he asked the box, thinking it might actually answer. 

The box was, of course, quiet. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it towards the box. He pressed the button and it made an old and rusty noise. Then, Doctor shoved the scredriver into the console and looked at the screen. 

"An ancient puzzlebox. How ancient is it?" he asked the TARDIS. 

"Unknown", responded the cold voice. 

"Where is it from?" he asked again. 

"Unknown." 

"What _do_ you know?" 

"This is an ancient puzzlebox. The legend sais that whoever opens it will find an answer to every question." 

"What legend is that?" he asked cuoriously. 

An image appeared on the screen. It was a book called _1001 Ancient Legends_. It was written by a woman named Nataly Parker. Doctor stared at the picture. He needed to know everything. 

"Find Nataly Parker", he instructed the TARDIS. 

"There are 27 women named Nataly Parker." 

"Which one of them wrote the book?" 

Again, a picture appeared on the screen. It was Nataly. She had a long red hair and deep, brown eyes. Something about her seemed familiar. The Doctor couldn't realize what it was, but he was sure there was something _special_ about her. Underneath her picture were her personal information, including her adress. The Doctor pulled the lever and the machine came to life. The sound it made was archaic and loud at first, but later it was a bit futuristic and quiet. As soon as it reached its destination, it just stopped making any noise. 

Doctor stepped outside the TARDIS and went towards the small, yellow house. He reached the front yard, while carrying the puzzlebox, and looked at her front door. He knocked four times on the door and waited. He waited for a few seconds, and then knocked again. 

On the other side of the door, inside the house, Nataly was just changing. 

"Just a second", she yelled after the second knocking. 

She ran to the door, unlocked and opened it. There was no one there. She angrily shook her head and was about to close the door, when she noticed a small wooden object on the doormat. She picked it up and looked at it carefully. She went back inside and closed the door. 

The Doctor was looking from the TARDIS. He smiled and said: "Good luck, Nataly." 


	2. Secret of the Layers

Nataly looked at the puzzlebox. She was fascinated with what she was seeing. She couldn't understand how is it possible that this very box, that she was writing about in her book, is right here in front of her. But, more importantly, who left it on her doorstep? Who knocked on the door? She knew it wasn't a coincidence. Someone was determined to give the box to her because he knew who she was. That person knew she wrote a book about ancient legends and gave one of those legends to her. Why? 

She went to the bookshelf and took her own book. She went back to the table and started searching the book for the one particular legend. Her home was lovely: it was a perfect combination of modern and rustic. It wasn't big. There was a kitchen, small dining room table, living room, bathroom and bedroom. But it was all she needed. 

Finally, she was looking at the big title _The Puzzlebox_. The problem with this box is that there are no information about its origin. No one knew where it comes from, but it is familiar that the box is old. in fact, it was very old. Archeologists confirm that these tachniques where used at least 2,000 years ago. There is an assumption that the box has many layers and each of them provides you with enough information to unlock the next layer. Only when you unlock the last one, you will be given the complete knowledge of the entire universe. And that was it. No other information. 

She thought to herself: _What is the logical thing to do when you get a box?_ And then she realised. It was actually quite logical.

She grabbed the box with both hands and tried to open it like it had a lid or a cover. And it worked. The box opened and inside was another box. On Nataly's surprise, the second box was just as big as the first one. She didn't know how was that possible. But, there was something engraved in this box. On one of its sides, there was a note: _On your doorstep_.

She went to her door and opened it. There was a strange man with a bowtie on her doorstep. 

"Oh, hello. What a nice surprise", he said with a smile on his face.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm the Doctor."

"What kind of a Doctor are you?" 

The Doctor wasn't expecting _this_ question, but he wasn't completely dissapointed.

"Just the Doctor", he said.

"You left the puzzlebox here, didn't you?" she said.

"Guilty, heh", he responded, trying to make a joke.

"Open it", Nataly said and gave him the box. 

"But how?" 

"Like it's a jewelry box, with both hands."

The Doctor listened to her and easily opened the box. Inside, there was another box. Again, it was the same size. But this one was special. Nataly looked at it with complete lack of understanding, but the Doctor was fascinated. He didn't know that the box was interactive in this way.

The box was blue. TARDIS-blue.


	3. The Fatal Investigation

The Doctor took Nataly to the TARDIS. She looked at it, and then looked at the box. She admired the similarity. But she didn't understand what should they do now. What does this police box have to do with them or the puzzlebox? 

The Doctor snapped his fingers and the door opened. Nataly looked inside and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The box was actually bigger on the inside. She couldn't hide her surprise. She entered the TARDIS and walked all around it. The Doctor followed her with a satisfied smile on his face. Nataly was touching the buttons on the console and all of them were making a noise. It made her laugh. 

"So, what do you think? It's called the TARDIS" the Doctor told her. 

"It's beautiful. It really is", she said with a smile on her face. 

"Now, the only thing we need to figure out is how to open the puzzlebox. We entered the TARDIS, it was obviuosly necessary, but there must be something else because the puzzlebox is still blue." 

"Well, what does the TARDIS do? Maybe it has something to do with its function", said Nataly. 

"It's a time machine. It can travel anywhere in time and space. Which would mean that we could go somewhere else and see what happens." 

"A time machine? If it wasn't bigger on the inside I'd think you're crazy, but all of this is actually crazy so I don't know what I'm talking about." 

The Doctor could se that Nataly was confused. But he also knew that she is a brilliant woman. She's intelligent and thinks logically. He liked that a lot. He went to the console and started pushing buttons and pulling levers. Before Nataly realized what was happenig, the machine started making the noise. But, Nataly was stunned. The look on her face was serious. 

"What? What is it? Tell me?" the Doctor said as soon as he saw that something was happening. 

"I remember this noise. I was just a little girl when I heard it outside my window. It was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard and I wanted to hear it again. I looked through the window but there was nothing there. It was too late. What were you doing in my past?" Nataly asked him. 

"Remember, this is a time machine. I didn't visit you. Yet. But it's clearly going to happen one day which means we have to be very careful not to cause a huge paradox. Now, everything we do must be done with caution. Then we will see what our next step will be. Is that OK?" the Doctor said gently, like he was trying not to hurt her. 

Nataly nodded _yes_. The TARDIS landed. The Doctor looked at the puzzlebox. This time it was green. The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver and pointed it towards the box. Then he pressed the button and the screwdriver scanned it again. Green color faded out and the box was wooden and brown again. The letters appeared on it: _investigate_. 

"It wants to go outside!" Nataly said, happilly like a little child. 

"It appers so", the Doctor responded. 

"Where are we? And when?" Nataly asked. 

"Go outside and check." 

Nataly ran outside and what she saw was amazing. It was the Acropolis. Parthenon was there and it was complete, not at all destroyed. She couldn't believe her own eyes. Ever since she was a little girl, it was her dream to visit Athens. And now she's there. Doctor stood next to her with the box in his hands. The letters changed: _KILL_. 


	4. She's coming

"What does _kill_ mean?" Nataly said angrily. 

"When it comes to puzzles, they usually mean something different. It probably doesn't want us to actually kill someone. We just need to figure out _what_ we need to kill", the Doctor explained. 

"But all of the previous tasks were literal, why would it change now?" 

There was a long pause. The Doctor didn't know what to tell her. He wasn't happy about this situation either. He was alway against any kind of violence so this was a surprise to him. Nataly, on the other hand, had no such problems. But, she believed that she needs to have a valid reason for everything she does. If someone attacked her or threatened to kill her, she would be forced to do something against that person and maybe even kill him. But she couldn't do it just because a random box said she should. 

They were walking towards Parthenon. The Acropolis was magnificent. Nataly was really happy that she's there, even though the circumstances weren't perfect. Finally, when they reached the Parthenon, they almost forgot about why they're actually there. They just admired the beautiful building. They went inside. Many people were there, praying. It was very peaceful. 

Everyone were staring at the two of them. The Doctor and Nataly were unusuall strangers in strange clothing. Eventually, no one wanted to come near them. They were afraid. But there was a young man who didn't look at them with fear, but with curiosity. He was wearing a yellow-coloured chiton. It was a beautiful garment tied around his left shoulder with a playful brown-coloured pattern. 

"Hello, strangers, my name is Nigelius. How can I help you?" he asked. 

Nataly and the Doctor looked at each other, not knowing what to say. 

"We were looking for someone who could show us around. We are new here", Nataly said with a smile. 

"Well, of course. Come along." 

They followed the young man who was walking towards the exit of the temple. As soon as he was on great enough distance, Nataly asked the Doctor: 

"How does he know english?" 

"Sorry, I forgot to mention: the TARDIS translates everything for us. and as far as he's concerned, we're talking in Greek", the Doctor said. 

Nataly was fascinated. It was all so strange and new to her, while this man, the Doctor, knows everything and finds it perfectly normal. She thought it wasn't natural. After all, she didn't know anything about this man. Who is he? Why does he call himself _the Doctor_? And most importantly, how did he find her in the first place? She knew she could't trust a man like that, but she also wanted to open the puzzle. 

After few minutes, they weren't sure where is that man taking them. But it was the same route they walked when they were going to the Acropolis. They saw the TARDIS and the man was clearly taking them towards it. He stopped next to it. 

"Return to where you've come from. You'll find nothing here what you seek", Nigelius said. 

"I don't understand", the Doctor was confused. 

"The others might be scared of you, but I'm not. I know who you are and why are you here. And I will stop you", he said and pulled out a very advanced weapon from his chiton. 

"Get in the TARDIS!" the Doctor yelled. 

Nigelius started to shoot and he almost shot Nataly. Fortunately, she went into the TARDIS, and the Doctor right after her. He went over to the console and started pushing the buttons. At the same time, he was looking at the screen where he could see Nigelius standing in front of the TARDIS and shooting it. As soon as the TARDIS started to dematerialize, Nigel jumped on it and grabbed it. 

"What the hell is he doing? We need to shake him off the TARDIS" Nataly was shocked. 

"But he will end up in the middle of the time vortex and die! The only reason why he's still alive is because of the TARDIS." 

"If we take him with us to the Earth, then we die!" 

Nigelius tried to open the door. 

"He's going to enter!" Nataly yelled. 

"The TARDIS is locked, he can't just break in!" the Doctor responded. 

But, the Doctor was wrong. Nigelius managed to open the door and he was in the TARDIS. He was shooting at everything. The Doctor threw himself on the floor and tried to hide, but Nataly had another idea. She ran towards Nigelius who was too busy trying to shoot the Doctor. She took the weapon from his hand and pointed it at him. 

"You think you're very clever, don't you", Nigelius said. 

"Nataly, don't do it!" the Doctor told her. 

"Who are you?" Nataly asked Nigelius. 

"She's coming, Doctor. She'll be here sooner than you think", Nigel said, laughing at the same time. 

"Who is?" the Doctor asked. 

"You know who", Nigel whispered and ran through the doors and into the vortex. 

Nataly went to the Doctor and looked at the puzzlebox in his hands. It said: _FIND_. 


End file.
